Search

The Oral HIV/ AIDS Research Alliance ( OHARA) was established in 2006 to provide the capacity to investigate the oral complications associated with HIV/ AIDS within the ACTG infrastructure. Its goals were to explore the effects of potent antiretroviral therapy ( ART) on the development of opportunistic infections, and variation and resistance of opportunistic pathogens in the context of immune suppression and long-term ART. The objectives of this talk, presented as part of a plenary session at the 7th World Workshop on Oral Health and Disease in AIDS, were to (i) provide an overview of OHARA's most recent research agenda, and how it evolved since OHARA's inception; (ii) describe OHARA's main accomplishments, including examples of research protocols completed and their key findings; and (iii) describe spin-off projects derived from OHARA, lessons learned, and future directions. OHARA has met its central goal and made key contributions to the field in several ways: (i) by developing/updating diagnostic criteria for oral disease endpoints commonly measured in OHARA protocols and in HIV/ AIDS research in general and has creating standardized training modules, both for measuring these oral disease endpoints across clinical specialties, and for collecting oral fluid specimens; (ii) by implementing a total of nine protocols, six of which are completed. Three protocols involved domestic research sites, while three involved international research sites (in Africa, India, and South America); (iii) and by developing and validating a number of laboratory assays used in its protocols and in the field of oral HIV/ AIDS research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the type and prevalence of oral mucosal lesions among adults with primary HIV infection (PHI) compared with HIV-negative adults at high risk for HIV disease, and in relation to HIV viral load. Methods: We conducted standardized oral examinations to identify specific oral mucosal lesions among adults with PHI, both pre-seroconversion and post- seroconversion-recently infected, compared with HIV-negative adults. We compared the group with oral lesions to those without oral lesions with respect to HIV-RNA load and CD4 + T-cell count. Results: Among 115 adults (predominantly men), pseudomembranous candidiasis was the most common oral lesion among those with PHI, and was found in 4% of the 23 participants in pre-seroconversion and in 9% of 69 participants with post-seroconversion recent infection, compared with none found among 23 HIV negatives. Among those with PHI, the median viral load was higher and the median CD4 + T-cell count lower among the 15 participants with an oral lesion of any type than among the 77 participants without oral lesions ( P = 0.02 and 0.04, respectively). Conclusion: This finding suggests that individuals with PHI who have oral lesions may be more likely to transmit HIV because of their higher viral load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]